Is Tooth Decay Eating Away at our Kids?

San Francisco Dentists say “A child's access to regular dental care is critical in the prevention of dental disease and to treating disease in its early stages. Early prevention - through diet, correct brushing practices and regular dental check-ups can reduce the effects of oral disease. Primary school children may visit a school dental clinic, but this isn't as common in the pre-school and secondary years. Visiting a dentist regularly is the key to prevent dental disease.”
HBA's recent membership data showed that children under five years had the lowest dentist visitation rates, with only 18 percent visiting a dentist in the past financial year. Recent analysis of the dental habits of more than 200,000 children under 25 revealed that 60 percent did not visit a private dentist in the last financial year - amid findings that tooth decay has become the single most common chronic disease among children.
According to San Francisco dentists “HBA's analysis of children who visited a dentist in the past financial year showed that:”
more than 36 percent of children under 25 received a filling, with an average of three fillings each
38 percent of children aged six to 10 years received a filling
66 percent of young adults aged 21 to 24 received an average of 2.8 fillings each
children aged 16 to 20 had the highest average number of teeth removed - three
more than 23 percent of young adults aged 21 to 24 years had an average of two teeth removed by a dentist
only four percent of children under 25 received a custom-made mouth guard when playing contact sports
In the past three years the number of children under 25:
who required fillings has increased by 10 percent
removal of a tooth increased by 5 percent
children under 25 who did visit the dentist in the past financial year, did so on average 3.5 times and were treated with an average of four dental procedures at each visit for protection when playing contact sports.
This data is, despite the Dental Association's recommendation that children should visit the dentist every six to twelve months, from the age of one, to prevent dangerous tooth decay.
“Increased consumption of non-tap water drinks, for instance soft drinks - which may be both acidic and sugary - or bottled water - which does not contain fluoride - are major factors in the high level of tooth decay in children,” “The massive increase in decay is disappointing because it begins to reverse 25 years of improvement in dental health after fluoride was introduced to water systems in the early 1970s” according to San Francisco dentists.

The Child Dental Health Survey reported that over 40 percent of 12 year olds have some history of decay in their permanent teeth - that is, one or more decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth. San Francisco dentists say “dental benefit should covers dental procedures such as cleaning, examinations, fillings and x-rays, possibly saving a family of two children an average of $276 a year on out of pocket costs.

At www.saldana-dds-sf.com, our San Francisco dentists who have as many as 20 years of valuable experience , express their concern about growing disparities in dental health and the lack of progress in tackling the worldwide burden of tooth decay. This team of San Francisco dentists place high emphasis on prevention and patient education, building close relationships with patients.